1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a transportation device for an image processing apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a transportation device including a first and second tray.
2. Related Art
One example of a transportation device currently known in the art is a facsimile machine disclosed in Japanese Patent No. JP-A-5-14593. In this transportation device, a feed tray portion transporting a medium into a housing and an ejection tray portion for receiving the material ejected from the housing, are arranged in a vertically stack. More specifically, the inlet opening of the feed tray portion and the outlet opening of the ejection tray portion are disposed at different heights in the vertical position, but are formed at the same position in a transportation direction.
The transportation device has a slide portion where the feed tray portion slides into a housing. The feed tray portion is configured such that when the slide portion is pulled from the inlet opening the image processing apparatus is in an operational state and the material can be transported into the image processing apparatus. By contrast, the image processing apparatus is in an unused state when the slide portion is stored in the housing. When the image processing apparatus is in the operational state, the ejection tray portion is not structurally changed, but the length of the feed tray portion is increased by the length of the slide portion pulled from the inlet opening.
The transportation device also has a single cover member which is rotatably mounted on the front of the slide portion for closing the opening. The cover member is brought into contact with the inlet opening and the outlet opening when the slide portion is pushed into the housing so as to simultaneously close both the inlet opening and the outlet opening. When both openings are closed, the printer is in the unused state and foreign matter can be prevented from entering the image processing apparatus via the openings. Meanwhile, when the slide portion is pulled from the housing, the cover member rotates to an opened state, and the feed tray portion moves to the operational state.
When a user uses the transportation device, the user first pulls the slide portion from the housing, which opens both the inlet and outlet openings. Then, the cover member is opened, so the device is shifted to the operational state. Then the material to be transported is set in the feed tray portion with the increased length due to the additional length created by pulling out the slide portion. Then the material is transported into the housing by driving a transportation unit (transportation roller). As the material is transported on the transportation path in the housing, the material is subjected to an imaging process, flipped over, and ejected to the ejection tray portion positioned on the upper layer of the transportation unit.
In the transportation device described in JP-A-5-14593, the unit switches between the operational and unused state using the slide structure of the feed tray portion and the cover member which is provided on the front end of the slide portion. One problem with this sliding structure, however, is that the structure of the device is greatly changed due to the movement of the slide portion, and the center of gravity of the transportation device is moved due the increased length of the slide portion. Accordingly, the structural design necessary to keep the device stable becomes complicated.
The slide portion functions as a placement surface for the material when the slide portion is pulled out from the housing, but is stored inside the housing when the slide portion is thrust into the housing, making it an unnecessary component when the device is not being used. That is, in the slide structure, waste occurs in the space allotment for each of the components. The waste leads to the unnecessary increase in the amount of material used in each of the components and an unnecessary increase in the total weight of the device.
In addition, the transportation device described in JP-A-5-14593, it is necessary for a user to push and pull the slide portion in order to change the device from the unused state in which both the inlet opening and the outlet opening are closed by the cover member to the usable state in which the both openings are opened. Thus, operability of the device deteriorates.